Connecticut legislature considers task force on violent video games

HARTFORD -- Connecticut lawmakers received mixed reactions Tuesday to proposed legislation that would forbid arcades and other establishments from allowing children under 18 to play point-and-shoot video games.

While proponents told members of the General Assembly's Children's Committee they believe there's a link between violent games and violent behavior exhibited by young people, both the American Civil Liberties Union and a coalition of media trade associations warned legislators such a ban would be unconstitutional.

"This is a case where there's solid law of the land on this issue," said David McGuire, staff attorney at the Connecticut ACLU, adding how it's the right of the parent to decide which games their children ultimately play.

In 2011, the U.S. Supreme Court, in a 7-2 vote, ruled that states cannot ban the sale or rental of violent video games to children. The high court, which rejected such limits as a violation of young people's First Amendment rights, threw out California's 2005 law that covered games sold or rented to those under 18.

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While the issue has come up in Connecticut's legislature over the years, interest is more intense this year following the Dec. 14 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown that left 20 first graders and six educators dead. The 20-year-old shooter, Adam Lanza, reportedly played violent video games but it is still unclear what lead to the massacre.

Besides the ban on children playing point-and-shoot games in public establishments, this year's legislation also creates a state task force with the Department of Children and Families to study the effects of violent video games on youth behavior. The task force would report its findings to the legislature by Oct. 1, 2014.

Sen. Toni Harp, D-New Haven, a chief proponent of the bill, said she wants to put the public's health ahead of a child's desire to aim a simulated gun at simulated people.

"There's no doubt in my mind these games can put real people at risk again in the future," said Harp, adding how she believes the games teach young people that shooting people is easy, desensitizing them to the realities of gun violence.

But several people testified on Tuesday that some studies do not show a link between violent video games and violent behavior by young people.

"People play these video games throughout the world. There has not been an increase of violence in correlation with the amount that has been sold," said Stephen Hanshaw, a student at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield.

Hanshaw also brought up how the proposed ban on shooting games could create a burden for owners of video arcades, establishments often frequented by young people, who would have to make sure children don't use the games. Owners and operators who violate the law would face an infraction.